Reviews by mdfb79:

a - Pours a dark brown, almost black color, with two fingers of tan head and moderate carbonation evident. Looks great, like most of the other Eclipse variants.

s - Smells of whiskey, chocolate, roasted malts, vanilla, clay, caramel malts, toasted malts, burnt malts, and earthy notes. Nice nose, whiskey is up front and a little harsher than some of the other variants, but it is enjoyable.

t - Tastes of whiskey, sweet chocolate, bitter chocolate, roasted malts, clay, earthy notes, burnt malts, char and smoke, and light toffee and caramel malts. Taste is bourbon forward again with more earthy and clay notes to it than the nose had.

m - Medium to full body and low to moderate carbonation. Body is somewhat thick and chewy, not much heat at all. very good mouthfeel, like most of the Eclipses.

o - Overall this is a good variant, but not a great one or one of the better ones in my opinion. I am a huge Eclipse fan and have had most of them and this ranks towards the bottom for me; thank being said, it is still a very good beer. I think it is a little bit harsher than some of the other variants, and has more earth qualities to it. Worth drinking for sure and interested to see where my other bottle goes, but given the option, I'd buy EW, 4R, or EC over this for sure.

22oz, dull silver waxed bottle, run #2 of 2013, and part of a six-pack sort of deal that arrived in Alberta a few weeks ago - not that it's always being sold that way.

This beer pours an expectedly solid black wall, yet with perhaps a bit of muddy cola highlights in the nether regions, and three fingers of puffy, rocky, and truly creamy and foamy mocha head, which leaves some nicely askew cobwebbed lace around the glass as it slowly and evenly subsides.

It smells rather pungently of cocoa powder, the kind that's just been mixed into a healthy (re: double or triple) shot of middle-shelf Bourbon - the grittiness pervades, but I can sort of isolate a bit of vanilla, caramel, and astringent wood fiber, if I really must. The taste is much more rounded in its chocolate essence, the liqueur-like effects of the barrel more alcoholic than Yankee whiskey-borne here, though hints of spicy rye and cooking vanilla bleed through as this deal slowly warms (it's not exactly balmy outside right now, and my house hasn't quite properly heated up yet today, either). A slight, toasted dark fruitiness also arises, to a welcoming pat on the back, alongside some weak woody notes, day-old coffee, and a struggling, seemingly out of its element reduced brown sugar sweetness.

The bubbles are obviously quite effusive up front, but settle quite nicely into a tight holding pattern, the body a hefty medium-full weight, and generally smooth, the tics of char, java, and burgeoning booze indulging, all. It finishes well off-dry, the woody whisky, caramel chocolate malt, and dark sugary fruit providing the outline for today's task(s).

One of the more approachable versions of this shotgun blast of new 50/50 Eclipse barrel-aged, big-ass stouts. If I've enjoyed any Bourbons over the past few years, the red-wax sealed (wait, what? Sigh, no consistency) Makers Mark has been prominent among them. Nice to see that tasty, if somewhat simple, corn whiskey goodness so agreeably imprinted here.

This was from their latest release, I feel like if I had left this in the cellar for some time I would be giving this a perfect rating. Maker's Mark is my personal favorite whiskey so I'm probably a little biased. Nose on the beer is incredible, I just want to live in it, and then this beer goes down so easy for being as heavy as it is. I took the first sip and said "this might be the best beer I've ever had." It's hard to convince yourself to spend $30 on a bottle of beer, but this one was definitely worth it to me. Cheers